RICHARD EDEN: Harry and Meghan’s ‘desperate’ attempts to return after Trump’s victory was revealed – as my insiders tell me the Duke fears deportation
When I announced last month that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had bought a house on the coast of Portugal, the reasons behind the purchase remained shrouded in mystery.
Why had the couple bought their first European property after being evicted from Windsor’s Frogmore Cottage by King Charles early last year?
Now things may have become clearer: Prince Harry and Meghan could have sought an escape route if Donald Trump returned to the White House.
A royal source told me earlier this year that the Sussexes were making increasingly ‘desperate’ attempts to extend olive branches across the Atlantic. It followed a series of hostile comments from the Trump family.
And the same insider said yesterday: ‘We can expect to see more of Harry back in Britain in the coming years.’
During a visit to the Trump International Golf Links in Scotland in August, the president-elect’s son Eric called the Duke and Duchess “spoiled apples” and repeated his father’s claims that Harry could be deported if Republicans win .
Prince Harry and Meghan, pictured here in Dusseldorf last year, could seek an escape route in Portugal as Donald Trump returns to the White House
“You’re lucky to have those two,” Eric added. “Maybe we don’t want them anymore; it feels like they are on their own island.”
Donald Trump had previously suggested that Harry – who has been living in California since 2020 – would not be given “special privileges” and could indeed be deported if he is found to have falsified information on his visa form.
In his memoir, Spare, the prince revealed that he used to use drugs including cocaine, cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms – which would typically be grounds for a visa application to be rejected under US law.
Last month, a conservative US think tank tried to reopen its lawsuit to force the Department for Homeland Security to make public the prince’s immigration records, on the grounds that it should not have seen the Biden administration’s private submissions to the judge . .
The previous case brought by the Washington DC-based Heritage Foundation was dismissed in September, after a nearly two-year legal battle, when the judge ruled there was no significant public interest in releasing the records.
Meghan has previously labeled Trump as “divisive” and a “misogynist”, while his son Eric has branded the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as “spoiled apples”
There is of course a history between the Trumps and Meghan. When she was an actress, Meghan described Trump Snr as “divisive” and a “misogynist”.
While living in Toronto during the filming of the legal drama Suits, she stated that she might prefer to stay in Canada rather than return to her American homeland with Trump as president.
Someone who worked for the royals when the couple were part of ‘The Firm’ told me in August: ‘It seems pretty clear that the Sussexes are desperate to heal the rift. [with the Royal Family].’
As evidence, the source pointed to the series of stories recently published in People magazine, a favorite outlet of Harry and Meghan. They included an article in July about Harry’s despair at his father not accepting his calls, and another claiming his rift with Prince William was not “irreparable.”
These comments followed an interview Harry gave in February, in which it was suggested that the king’s cancer diagnosis could help them put aside their differences.
After his 26-hour visit to his father earlier that month, Harry said: ‘In all these families I see it happen every day, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think every disease, every illness brings families together.”
Of course, no one doubts Harry’s genuine concerns about his father’s health.
The re-elected president is seen here next to the Queen during a visit to Britain in 2019. He was challenged for running for Her Majesty
The prince has claimed that Britain is too dangerous a destination for his family since his automatic taxpayer-funded security was withdrawn by the government after he retired as a working royal and moved to the US. Apparently he still wants to appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case.
The purchase of their home in Portugal potentially allowed the couple to obtain a so-called “golden visa,” which would grant them passport-free access to Europe’s Schengen area of nearly 30 countries.
This could have been a big draw, especially for Meghan. When the couple got engaged in November 2017, Kensington Palace said Meghan planned to apply for British citizenship in due course, with a spokesperson confirming that “she will go through the process.” [which] lasts a number of years’.
However, the idea was ultimately abandoned after she and her husband left the country in March 2020 – less than two years after their wedding.
Aside from reconciling with the Firm, obtaining a golden visa would help Meghan should she and her husband develop their plans to become the “rival royals” across the water, allowing them to travel around Europe with ease. We’ve already seen them undertake ‘quasi-royal’ tours of Nigeria and Colombia, and more foreign trips are in the pipeline.
If the Sussexes find life in California under Trump too uncomfortable, Portugal – which overthrew its monarchy in 1910 – could soon play host to a new royal court.
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